


the morning after

by mhcore (elyxian)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Aftercare, Aged Up NCT Dream, Daddy Kink, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan Is The Sun, Light Angst, M/M, Making Out, Mark Lee (NCT) is Whipped, No Smut, Not Canon Compliant, Soft Mark Lee (NCT), The Morning After a One Night Stand, after sex - Freeform, because i can't seem to write without angst, i miss markhyuck, lemme think about posting the smut, mark lee cries after sex, mark lee doesn't know how to cook, markhyuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:40:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22181938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elyxian/pseuds/mhcore
Summary: mark lee is tired of one-night-stands or of anything euphoric but rushed and temporary.-or alternatively, he wakes up with a hangover and a beautiful boy in his kitchen
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 7
Kudos: 374





	the morning after

**Author's Note:**

> this is not beta read. forgive me for any mistakes.

mark wants to believe he wouldn't suffer a week-long stiff neck after this but he couldn't get himself to stand up from his couch where he's lying, only his boxers and a duvet to keep him warm.

everything feels heavy. his head, his eyelids, his body, and his soul. he just feels so tired he swears he would miss work for today. he deserves it.

he drops his feet down to the floor, still failing to make his body sit up from the upholstery. and after slipping his toes into the warmest slippers ever, mark is almost falling back into slumber when his stomach suddenly grumbles. 

he scoffs out of annoyance. how in the hell could his stomach still make a sound knowing he's inches away from dying out of hunger. it should do something better, like conserving energy or something.

he sits up, and forcefully peels his eyes open, his eyelids fighting back and kind of bites at his fingers he's using to open them with. 

he groans, loud but weak. he's too frustrated with himself but he can't bring it to himself either to get mad about how he wakes up in his couch when he has a bed that's very much more welcoming. 

he ruffles his hair, before fully getting out of the couch and grabbing a pan to place on the stove. he purposely walked with his arms hovering in front of him in case he misses his steps again and end up _accidentally_ hitting his hip against one of the counter corners. he's awake but at the same time, he's not. he mentally claps for himself for learning how to sleep with eyes open back in highschool.

he cracks open an egg, and another. he's so hungry he knows how just one wouldn't be enough to fuel him up for the day.

he was now contemplating whether to call johnny and jaehyun or just have his secretary look for a better set of friends for him. he knows johnny and jaehyun will gladly look out for him at times like this. johnny even went out of way back in college to cook a hangover meal comprising something (hungover food) for him considering jaehyun was the one to drive him back home from the bar. 

he really owes them a lot. but he's now having second thoughts because both of them are out of the radar, due to reasons such as a business meeting and a honeymoon. mark not remembering who attended which. 

if he wasn't brought back to his senses by the sound of footsteps from the stairs, maybe he's now asleep in front of eggs burning in a pan. 

there wasn't much mark was expecting to happen today. but he changes his mind when his eyes dart onto brown mop of hair, golden skin, red lips and long slender legs. beautiful long slender legs, mark corrects himself.

mark at this point is not sure whether he is being awaken by the sight or if he is being awaken by the fact that there is indeed a beautiful man in front of him right now. how the hell?

he was just about to speak, when the boy with red lips suddenly rushed to where mark was, snatching the spatula from mark's hand. 

he then minimizes the fire coming out from the stove. the eggs are burning.

"the eggs are burning!" mark suddenly shouts, much more to himself than to anyone else in the room. 

he was then shot with a look that clearly says ' _yes i can clearly see the eggs burning_ ' and mark raises a hand to the back of his head at that. he rubs at his nape, thinking how could he be so stupid enough to let eggs burn and to let himself be embarrassed in front of a beautiful man who seems to look like the same age as him.

"and here i am thinking i could possibly find someone husband material to cook me food." mark blushed at the words that slipped from red lips, which don't belong to him. 

"i'm sorry." he continues to rub the back of his head, still in a daze and can't seem to figure out how to get out of such situation. 

he wants to be alarmed. but he can't get himself to be scared of someone who looks something so close to an angel. 

"just prepare the table, yeah?" the man in front of mark spoke again, and that sent electricity to mark's legs making him start moving like the flash. he gathers two plates and two sets of utensils from his dish rack. he then places them on top of his dining table. he's so used to making breakfast for just himself, he doesn't even use his plates and just eats from the pan itself. 

he sets himself down on one of the chairs facing the kitchen counter for two reasons. one, to see if the boy cooking was actually going to kill him or something. two, to see the boy. 

the air was too comfortable that mark's head started to throb again. he felt like his brains are getting pushed out of his skull. he can also feel nausea pooling in his stomach all due to not having a proper meal from yesterday. 

the vivid memory of last morning also made him remember last night. he juts his head back when he is suddenly reminded of how the fuck did he end up with someone beautiful in his house. of course.

a one-night-stand. 

mark fucking lee almost sighs to himself for not noticing the obvious. but he also wants to snap at himself for realizing that the said boy from the bar is still in his kitchen, brewing coffee for the both of them, while cooling a pan of eggs he nearly burnt. domestic.

he continously opens and closes his eyes, in trial to regain memories from last night's rave. he was obviously left alone by his friends to some stranger. and this is another to add to his long list of 'reasons why i need new friends'. 

he then hears a sound of glass being placed on glass. mark opens his eyes to this. he glanced up and he sees the beautiful boy looking down at him, a small smile evident on his lips as he places a glass of water and a pill seemingly to relieve the headache.  
he just smiled back, also a small one, still unsure how to react on the current issue at hand. 

he pops the pill into his mouth and downs the glass of water in one big gulp.   
he darts his eyes again on the other boy, and that's when he realizes that the latter was wearing his dress shirt from last night. it's so long, evident from the way it rides down to the other male's thighs. 

it was a pale shade of blue. it was his mother's favorite color so she made him wear it to one of his business meetings purposely to woo the clients. but another reason for mark to wear it is to gain trust from his mother who always nags him about not being able to take care of the company on his own.

he wonders how his night actually went. when he's here half-naked, seated on one of his dining chairs while a beautiful boy is preparing breakfast for him while wearing his dress shirt and probably nothing else underneath. his cheeks heat up from the thought.

"i-i will just go and shower upstairs." he says, sounding more like a whisper. the other just glances at him and nods in approval. 

he walks up the stairs and when he is already in his room, he could see the sheets folded on top of his bed. they were never like this and that's when it hit him, and it hit him hard that another boy actually slept on his bed. for the first time in a long while. 

mark was never the one who would be sensitive when it comes to talking about his sex life. he was indeed a fuckboy back in college. someone you wouldn't want to mess with even if he's one with noodle arms. always ending up in different houses, sometimes dormitories, but fortunately not as some teenage father.

he grins proudly as he slides into the shower before getting into his working clothes.

he takes a look at himself through the mirror and that's just when he sees the hickeys below his jaw and on his neck. he traces them with his fingers and he's reminded of the younger's lips dancing on his jaw and then down his neck. he sees how his ears burn red. he gives himself a once over before stepping away from the mirror.

he also brings out a pair of sweatpants, new boxers and a shirt and then places them top of his bed. 

he gets back down to his kitchen and by the looks of it, the other man has already finished preparing breakfast for them. toasted bread, eggs, coffee. it was simple but it's more than what mark usually prepares for himself in the morning. 

with a hand inside a watermelon pot holder, he looks quite smaller than he did earlier. his eyebrows furrowed in focus as to not transfer the contents of the pan on the table instead of the plates.

he probably notices the presence of the taller man because he looks at mark, with the softest doe eyes he has seen. he clears his throat and readies himself for another set of embarrassment.

"um, hey. if you would like to, there's a shower beside m-my room upstairs. i already put some clothes for you to wear on top of the bed." his hand finds its way again on the back of his neck, simultaneously raising with the blood that goes straight to his cheeks. 

"i'm donghyuck." he needs not to be told again. the name sticks to his head like wood glue. donghyuck. a pretty name for a pretty person. 

"and you're mark lee. i know." the smug grin on the other's face made mark let out a small smile and he doesn't know why. of course he's known for his riches and for his job. there's nothing to be surprised about. but the way donghyuck says his name, it was different. it kind of felt so familiar. it sounded like home and he was so sure of it. 

he smiles although not knowing the reason why. he just knows he's happy that the other is with him at this exact moment. 

He wanted to know so much more but after downing a cup of coffee he made, donghyuck already started sprinting towards the stairs, possibly going to the bathroom to shower or something.

Mark stays seated, head heavy with alcohol but mind still racing towards places he can’t seem to fully see. Last night was a blur, and to say it’s taking all of his strength to remember what happened is an understatement. He really can not pin-point where or when he bumped onto the other.

He decides to ask his friends who were with him last night. But he mentally slaps his face when he is reminded that his phone is maybe inside the pockets of the slacks he used yesterday which are probably lying on his bedroom floor next to donghyuck’s. 

He stood up and was on his way to his room already, the muffled sound of water hitting the bathroom floor makes him stall for a bit. It takes him all of his remaining power to will himself not to visualize honey-skin getting soaked under his own shower, in his own bathroom. the hair on the back of his neck almost stood up.

He shakes the thought out of his head.

He slips past the closed door, only to see the pile of used clothes on the floor he ignored a while ago. He immediately goes down on his knees to check each pocket of the pants in there. There were two pairs of pants, a dress shirt which seemingly belongs to donghyuck, and the coat mark wore on top of his dress shirt which was what donghyuck was wearing when he saw him in the kitchen this morning.

He rummages through the pockets of the pants for his phone, and he also _accidentally_ pulls out donghyuck’s phone. They have the same phone, the only thing that differentiated the phones to him was the way his unlocked by just a mere touch of his thumb on the screen. 

He was greeted by 3 missed calls and 7 texts, all from two different people only. One being renjun and the other being johnny.

Johnny texted him to ask about how his day went. This wasn’t new to mark especially when johnny never lets a day end without having to iterate to him that johnny and jaehyun will always be there for him no matter what. 

He then checks the messages from renjun. It was a string of messages all looking like they were asking for the same thing. 'Where the hell is donghyuck'. He types out a message letting the younger know that donghyuck is alright. And then seconds after, proceeded to asking the younger what the actual fuck happened last night. 

renjun is what, a friend? no. they're somewhat lesser than that. he's more of someone he casually just bumps into during parties. a friend of a friend maybe and if he remembers right, they only have each other's numbers because of jaemin. a huge jackass of a friend who leaves you in a party with a random stranger who you also stupidly take home _. normal_.

his anxiety begins to do anything but subside. he's unconsciously tapping his nails against the back of his phone, when he was brought back to the present when he hears the creaking of the door, signalling him that it's being furtherly opened.

if it was a sin to catch a glipse of the other's small physique, then mark would totally be living in hell already. his breath hitches upon a few seconds of eye contact with the younger. boo.

he feels the blood rush up to his cheeks as he hurriedly picks up the clothes from the floor. all of it. he hugs them close to his body, while still holding the phones on one of his hands. 

he stands up from the floor, and clears his throat. 

"i'm- yeah, i'll go down now. i'll put these into the washer. and um, h-here's your phone." his shaking hands are a way to tell he's nervous. 

"mark lee..." the other says. mark almost hears the smugness in his voice, and it makes his throat run dry. he could feel the other's eyes darted on him, pleading for him to look into them. he pulls the clothes nearer to his body, trying to hide the sudden emptiness of his chest. 

the man took his breath away.

"...you look cute when you're flustered..." he continues, but mark is now a blushing mess and is definitely at a loss for words. he couldn't muster the courage to respond. he now looks like a 16-year-old who got caught for loitering during class hours. 

the other grabs the phone from his hand but still continues to stand in front of him, not leaving any space for him to walk through. he's too shy to ask but also, he was giddy to get out of there because the man was so beautiful especially with his brown hair darker because of its dampness.

donghyuck was typing on his phone, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. at this point, mark cannot look away. 

"such a bummer though. that i didn't get to see last night. the lights were off." he should be embarassed by now. but his face paled because he doesn't like the fact that he doesn't remember any of what happened last night.

all he knows is that he came to a bar with his friends. and he woke up with a beautiful brunette in his home.

"hyung," donghyuck calls mark out when he notices that mark is looking at the floor. and fortunately, he succeeded in getting mark's attention.

"hyung? i'm older than you?" mark asks, his face full of surprise but he doesn't look offended. he's just kind of caught off guard by the way donghyuck called him. 

donghyuck flushed bright red, it was a nice color against his golden skin. and mark should list that color combination now to his favorite ones. he looks ethereal. he brings his arms down to his sides.

"y-yeah? i thought we established that already last night when you kept on insisting that i call you-" mark stopped him by putting a hand below the back of donghyuck's head and clasping his mouth shut with another. not now. all of their clothes and his phone are already on the floor, and their bodies are flushed together, but he didn't mind. the familiar feeling of warmth against his body is not something he should be bothered by right now.

"shut it." he hisses and although he tried his best to sound intimidating, the younger wasn't that much affected. he smiled on mark's palm, the older feeling the curve of his mouth almost immediately and the younger nods. mark then slowly lets go of his hold on the younger. 

"...daddy." 

and that's when everything snaps. it felt like a wave of blood and sweat and alcohol that flicked a part in his brain to remember everything. 

* * *

he is crying. 

he just came and even if he's still not done coming down from his high, he's already overwhelmed by emotions that started flooding inside his brain. 

he's sitting on his bed.

and on his lap is donghyuck straddling him. both of them are out of their clothes. this is odd. this is supposed to be odd. but with mark lee, a ceo of a very well-known company, nothing is odd. he himself is odd. he knows how to make an impression on anybody. anybody, including donghyuck.

he feels a hand slip to cup his cheek. a thumb hovered under his eye to wipe his tears. this only made him cry more. 

everything is a mess. this is not how one night stands go. drink, make out, fuck and then leave the next morning. 

mark reminds himself this a couple of times but now, he felt vulnerable. it's stupid because it just is. no explanations needed.

he should apologize to renjun after all of this. 

the hand that was once on his cheek, slid to the back of his head, tugging him to come closer and lay his head on the man's shoulder.

this can't be happening. 

he nuzzled his nose on the man's neck, and immediately felt warm. mark's hands are already resting on the boy's waist, and as if the proximity still wasn't enough, he wraps the other's waist fully in his arms and pulled him closer.

fingers thread through his hair, and he feels his eyes slowly flutter close. the boy smells of alcohol, sweat and weirdly, of something akin to a home.

his chest heaves, his breathing not close to subsiding but then he is reminded of the hands on his body, trying their best to relieve him of anything that's heavy on his shoulders right now.

"hyung," the man calls him. great, he's younger and here he is looking like a complete mess. mark thinks, but doesn't make a move to turn away from the younger.

he hums as a reply. 

"you know very well that i will listen to you right?" the younger asks, and mark decides not to reply with words but only with sniffling. he hopes the younger would keep on talking. the sound of his voice filling mark's ears with such comfort. he could sleep to the sound of his soft honey-like mellow voice. 

"...i mean you know, if you ever decide to talk about it. i'm not forcing you to. it's fine if you do not want to- yeah" the younger's voice was close to breaking and so he stops talking before he starts to ramble. 

mark is overwhelmed. he doesn't know how to respond. he has always been the one receiving those words. may they be from johnny, jaehyun, even jaemin, ten and taeyong. all of them. but this boy right here with him right now, is the first one to make him feel like breaking apart even if they're only on the first night.

he wants to let him in, he surely does. but he knows his pride will take over him. he can not trust too easily. it's just so not him.

"it helps to talk about it, you know." this boy is doing things to mark. he's making mark's walls break down with every word. the same walls he's spent years putting up are now inch-by-inch reaching the ground until they're just dust, a remembrance of what was once there.

he lifts his head up, and the younger man almost flinches at the movement. he looks up at the younger, and juts his lower lip out. 

he doesn't even try. the younger man is already frozen, a hand still tangled in locks of brown hair. he stills, looking intently to the eyes of the older man in front of him. mark speaks.

"i do not even know you. i only know your name, i am drunk, i do not even know if i'm going to remember any of this tomorrow." his eyelids are heavy, donghyuck could tell. 

he notices that mark wasn't crying anymore, the tears left stains on his cheeks. 

he lets go of the man's hair, his hands falling on to his lap, and he looks away. he's starting to put his weight on his knees on both his sides and he was about to move away from mark when the older man pulled him back down. 

his hands still sit on the younger's waist, the grip getting tighter by the second, and he doesn't want to let go. as much as he wants to deny how he cried on a one-night-stand, this in front of him is enough to make him accept for once that he's actually vulnerable.

the movement wasn't supposed to cloud up their mind but they're nowhere close to sober and they're both a mess. his thumbs are now carressing the soft skin and his eyes are roaming the younger's face down to his torso. 

donghyuck is scared. he's scared he's stepping over boundaries. he's afraid he's going beyond walls that he can't see. he's afraid he doesn't know what he's getting himself into but he continues to walk.

"hey." the older man calls, and when donghyuck doesn't budge, he takes a hand to hold his chin and to turn it to face against him. 

his eyes hold galaxies, all of them mark hasn't seen before. the sparkle telling him he's done something wrong. he doesn't want to see donghyuck cry. mark is an actual mess. a series of tears caused by things he couldn't explain. 

he doesn't even know what's making him emotional most of the times but he knows, deep inside him that it's the itch, the urge to burst into tears especially if everything's getting out of hand. nothing's wrong, he always reminds himself but then he also remembers everything is. 

"hey. what i meant was-" he feels the younger's eyes dart back on him. the warmth going back, making mark's insides turn red. 

"was that i barely know you. i don't even think i'll remember you after this but you make me want to tell you everything that's going inside my head." 

he pauses. they both breathe, letting oxygen seep into their system preventing it from blacking out. the younger looks like he's in a daze, lost in translation. 

"you make me weak. i knows it's in a good way though. i want to show you the dark sides, but i also want you to let me hold you through it. fuck, you even make me want to be held." he feels a chuckle move past his lips. 

this is a drunk mark. donghyuck continuously reminds himself. liquid courage is what's pushing him to tell all the right things. although now, they're technically wrong.

both of their heads are fogged up with alcohol. the type when things weren't painful yet. give it a few hours, and maybe it will kick in. 

they're both drunk, eyelids almost falling to a close, hands shaky and fumbling through touches but still manages to sit on the right places.

donghyuck doesn't manage to speak but his eyes find the older man's lips. red and plush. he bit his lower lip, and as if mark recognizes the gesture, he leans in and donghyuck meets him half way.

mark pulls him in, but it didn't seem like he's the one being pulled in when he wants this too. he wants to closeness, the vulnerability. 

donghyuck's hands go slow, tracing every part of mark's chest. and it stops when it's finally on the other's collarbones. he gently pushes, making them part.

mark is almost crashing their lips together again when donghyuck spoke between them. 

"i trust you." the words felt right but he knows they're wrong. he knows enough not to be trusting anyone on the first night. give it time and take things slow, jaehyun always reminds him when johnny reminds him to give everything while you still have the chance because coming up empty is better than regretting. 

"i trust you too." he breathes out, eyes still on the younger's lips. and their lips crash together again, moving to the beat that's been in their room since they entered it. did the beat came from their hearts? no one knows but if it is, they find no energy to even deny it, already lost in the middle of something close to a dream.

he feels teeth nip on his bottom lip and so mark grunts, not expecting for the younger to be this agressive. he doesn't wait for long until he parts his lips fully, welcoming the others tongue.

it was not long until mark took, if not forced the younger to surrender having the upper hand. his tongue carresses the other's, earning him mewls that go straight to his mouth. 

the taste no longer surprised him, for they were already kissing even before mark started crying. what's surprising him is that he is more sober now but still he can't find the consciousness to fully get his ass out of this mess he's entered.

the kisses soon turn to soft pecks.

he'll probably regret all of this in the morning. he'll regret all of the words he let slip from his lips. he'll grow scared of talking to anyone after this. he knows, he knows donghyuck is not supposed to be an exception. hell, he is just a random man he picked up from a bar. 

but all of this will be put off for tomorrow especially when he's leaning against the headboard of his bed, a man with tan skin, beautiful legs, and soft lips straddling him, he's so lost. 

he taps on haechan's thigh and as he pulls the younger closer to his body, the smaller boy squirms. mark then moves so that the younger's back is settled on the bed. haechan seems like he's not so fond of the sudden separation but he's too worn out to even protest.

mark is a mess and donghyuck is no different. he lays there, alcohol slightly wearing off but he's tired. his eyes are starting to close and he just lets them but not before he takes a peek at mark who puts on boxers and proceeds to get a washcloth which maybe he'll use to clean donghyuck off. 

not long after cleaning the other boy up, mark lays down beside him and takes it on his account to pull the younger's body to his chest. he cradles donghyuck's head and even ruffles the soft brown locks that lay on it. 

the night went on, quietly and peaceful. 

mark knows how nights like this end. he's always reminded of how things could vanish the second he wakes up the next morning. 

he's already tired of having to fake sleep when the other person is scurrying out of your house, hurrily wearing the clothes you've discarded last night. and so he does what he's been doing since forever. 

you _have to go before they leave you._ and so he slips from donghyuck's arm that's resting on his waist and off the covers. 

donghyuck notices. he feels the absence of the older almost immediately and still catches a sight of him grabbing another duvet from his cabinet. he's still awake and he decides not to let mark know.

donghyuck knows it's better not to ask mark why he had gone out of bed. too afraid of the possible answer. what if mark regrets everything already? what if he just wants to be far from donghyuck because he's not great in bed?

a bunch of thoughts cloud his brain so he just closes his eyes and considers the day done.

mark is steadily walking. he's slowly closing cabinets and doors, careful not to make a sound and that's how he ended up waking up the next morning with a tick on his neck and a dull throbbing on his head. 

* * *

"mark hyung." mark is still standing on his doorway, the younger man already passed by him. not before he dumped the clothes back to mark's arms. he's still lost in thought. 

he's somewhere in the middle of wanting to ask the younger why he's still here despite the chance given to him to leave and wanting to just bask in the uncertainty of being here today, with donghyuck. 

"so as I was saying, I'll be out already. I still have work, and about the clothes, I could just let renjun pick them up, or something." Mark looked at the younger with so much fondness.

He was about to stay staring at donghyuck but the words started to make sense in his head.

"You're leaving?" He asks, fully knowing that that's what donghyuck said. Donghyuck blinks once, twice. 

"Yes, hyung." Donghyuck replies without looking at Mark. His eyebrows are furrowed while struggling to lock his wrist watch. 

The wrist watch looks odd with that of the sweatpants and the shirt but mark remembers when he and chenle almost fought because he kept saying the wristwatch looks so out of place and chenle just told him off, 'I just want something on my wrist, hyung. It's not that serious.' And so he again smiles fondly.

Mark steps closer to the bed, dropping the clothes on it and proceeded to stride sideways until he's face to face with the younger. He looked down onto donghyuck fumbling with his watch.

He then grabs it out of the younger's hold and helped him lock it. He starts to feel donghyuck looking at him with eyebrows no longer furrowed. 

Their eyes met and so mark immediately let go of the other's hands. 

"I'll take you to your office." mark says, again picking up the clothes and continued to walk out of the room. 

Donghyuck follows,

"Hyung, I can go alone. anyways, I'm still gonna drop by my house to change into work clothes." Mark stops on his foot. He's also probably late for work and so mark suggests,

"Then I'll drop you at your house and then wait for you to get ready and then drop you off at your office." He closes the washer and begins to push the buttons, setting it for the garments he just put in. 

"Are you sure? Won't that make you late?" donghyuck asks, something about keeping mark from going to work sits weirdly with him. 

And so he steps out again, proceeding to the couch where mark woke up from. He sees the duvet disorderly on top of it, and he picks it up before folding it and placing it again on the couch. 

Little does he know, Mark's eyes are at him. When were they not? He continuously watches the younger because he still manages to be surprised when donghyuck does anything remotely small. Perhaps, he's making space for the younger within his day. Mark wouldn't admit it immediately but maybe also a space in his life.

"Yes I am sure. I'm the boss. I'm never late." 

Donghyuck huffs because of the sudden cockiness from mark's mouth but he also lets out a fond smile. 

* * *

They're sat inside Mark's car, the silence looming above them. With donghyuck on the shotgun seat, mark forgets to function for a second. 

If only his head wasn't throbbing, maybe he could have done better. But no, he's here hungover with a beautiful boy in his car. Who wouldn't turn dysfunctional? Not him.

"This is me." Donghyuck says, after they pull over to where donghyuck says his house is. They both look up at the building beside them. It looks like an apartment. 

"I live with renjun. You know him, I guess?" Mark just nods. And that explains the messages he got from renjun.

"Would you like to come inside? I don't know, I could probably brew you another cup of coffee or something?" The younger offers and mark was quick to decline. He needs some time alone.

"I'll just wait for you here. I'll be fine. Thank you." 

And when donghyuck finally steps out of his car, he heaves a big sigh. It's like he hasn't been breathing ever since last night. The lack of oxygen in his system catching up on him. 

He slaps a hand on the steering wheel. The pain on his palm reminding him of how real all of this was. He fumbles to reach for his phone and then he checks for a call, a text or anything but apparently, there's none. Everyone's probably busy. 

He just leaves a message telling them to hit him up once they're free. He leans his back against his seat, and removes his seat belt. He sees himself on the rear view mirror and so he squints a little, checking if the frustration shows in his face. 

And fortunately, it doesn't. 

He closes his eyes for a little bit and soon, he feels a man enter his car again, now smelling like fresh berries and vanilla. The faint version of the smell registering in his mind reminding him of when he nuzzled onto the younger's neck. 

He just sits back, and soon he finds himself eyeing donghyuck. Said man's hands were in the process of locking his seat belt when he noticed mark looking at him.

Donghyuck is wearing something resembling that of what mark is wearing.

"You're staring." 

"Yeah, I know. What about it?" Mark smugly says, which wipes the proud smile off the younger's face. Mark grins which earns him a frown. 

They drive to where donghyuck works. And he finds out he is in charge of accounting in Mark's rival company. Such irony makes Mark snicker and just roll his eyes fondly.

"I guess, this is where we- um, end?" Donghyuck says when they stop in front of the building, and mark feels the force in which donghyuck is just pushing the words out of his mouth, seemingly not convinced by them.

"No of course not." Mark responds, hands still gripping the steering wheel. His eyes are also darted to the front. Donghyuck starts to fiddle with the seat belt, knowing if he unlocks it, he would be faced with the inevatible which is, parting ways with the ceo. 

Mark grabs his phone and hands it over to donghyuck. Donghyuck guesses mark was asking for his number but he wasn't sure and so he looks at the older with questioning eyes. 

"Your number." Donghyuck was sure he heard the man clearly. His eyes widen as he looks at the older with confusion. 

Perhaps, this wasn't what he expected to happen today. He expected bitter endings, them parting and never seeing each other again; not unless they meet again at the bar and end up in mark's house again. 

He types in his phone, and names it 'Donghyuck'. He handed it back to mark who texted him immediately with his name and an obnoxious smiling emoji. 

"I guess I'll force you to delete my number again, sir." He says, not looking at mark, his eyes fixated on the yellow smiling thing on his phone screen.

"What?" Mark asks, and this brings a smile on Donghyuck's face. 

"Yes. I'll probably take back my number if this is how you text, hyung." They burst into a series of laughter both for different reasons. Donghyuck's being the way the emoji was looking at him. Mark's reason being the way donghyuck's laugh is contagious. 

"Shut up." 

"Seriously though, Mr. Mark _uses smileys in the wrong way_ Lee, you are full of surprises." Mark was caught off guard. The words made his cheeks burn. He feels like turning back now. He knows the younger man is so unpredictable but still, he gets tangled into his thoughts and the younger's ministrations. 

"So are you, Donghyuck-ah." They look at each other, and they both smile. That kind of smile which makes mark immediately look away because those lips are too much, they make his brain malfunction.

Donghyuck unlocks his seatbelt and leans closer to Mark. Mark's smile was immediately wiped off his face due to the proximity. 

Donghyuck's fingers find their way to Mark's necktie, fixing it and smoothing it down the older's chest. Mark feels his heartbeat stop and then continue at a faster pace. 

He looks at the man with curiousness. His eyes sparkle at the thought of the youger taking place in his life. From breakfast to nights where he's a mess and just wants to be held. The only difference is that they did things backwards. 

He looks down and that's the only time he notices the hickeys swarming the other's neck and occasiionally peeking out of his dress shirt. 

He feels some kind of pride upon seeing the beautiful contrast of purple and dark red bruises on tan skin.

He unlocks his seatbelt too and sits up until he was slightly taller than the younger. He leans in to plant a kiss on the younger's head. It was chaste, but donghyuck feels it there. He closes his eyes, savoring the feeling of being cared for. 

All of this is uncertain. But then he remembers last night.

"Hyung, about last night." He begins which catches mark off guard.

"Y-yeah? What about last night?" He stutters and donghyuck chuckles.

"Did you mean everything you said? That you-" 

"That I trust you? Yes. I hope it's true that you trust me too." Donghyuck smiles as bright as ever as if to say yes, and it was the most beautiful thing mark has seen that day. 

"Now get off my car mister before I take you with me and drive back home." Mark says when he feels Donghyuck is nowhere near going to work. 

"I wouldn't mind, you know." Donghyuck says as if accepting mark's suggestion. Mark is so close to just stepping on the gas and run off then from there. But in his mind, he hears jaehyun telling him to take it slow.

"No, donghyuck-ah. Stop being a tease now and step out." A pout made its way up the younger's face. And it was easily erased by mark's next words.

"We'll take things slow. We'll do it right this time." And so donghyuck steps out of his car and mark opens the window of the shotgun side. 

"Text me when to pick you up, alright?" 

"Oh where are you gonna take me now, Mr. Lee?" with a grin on his lips, donghyuck asks while leaning against mark's car window.

"I can't cook for my life so I am not going to take you home for dinner, Mr. Lee." Mark softly says, but keeps in mind to make his voice louder in order for Donghyuck to hear him.

Mark smiles at the thought of tan skin, plush lips, and long legs. And he's now on his way to work, with a disgustingly bright smile on his face. 


End file.
